Iolanthe

IOLANTHE was first produced at the Savoy Theatre on November 25, 1882 and achieved a run of over thirteen months, a total of 398 performances.

THE STORY

ACT 1

The opening of Act 1 finds us on an Arcadian landscape peopled by fairy-folk. The 3 leading subjects of the Fairy Queen, Celia, Lelia and Fleta are lamenting the banishment of Iolanthe, the most merry of all the Queen's subjects. Unfortunately Iolanthe had married a mortal and had thus broken one the most strictest of fairy laws. For this the punishment was death. However in her clemency, the Queen had commuted the sentence to one of penal servitude for life.

Even so, Iolanthe was forbidden to see her mortal husband and in her despair had taken up her abode at the bottom of a stream so as to be closer to her son of her marriage, Strephon.

The fairies plead with the Queen that their sister be forgiven. Working on her feelings they successfully persuade her to relent and Iolanthe is called back to them and is welcomed with open arms. For the first time the Queen and her subjects learn of Strephon and it is not long before he arrives merrily on the scene, dancing and singing joyously. He greets his mother and informs her that he is to be married to Phyllis, a pretty young Ward of Chancery, that very day.

His mother enquires anxiously as to whether he has received the permission of the Lord Chancellor. He replies wistfully that his application had been refused but nonetheless he intends to marry regardless. Strephon is presented to the Queen, her subjects and his mother's sisters. He complains to them of the disadvantages of being a fairy down to the waist. His legs however are mortal, a fact he has been careful not to disclose to his beloved Phyllis. The Queen suggests that with his fairy brain he would do well in Parliament and promises to use her powerful aid on his behalf.

As the fairies depart, Phyllis comes to meet Strephon and they proceed to discuss the matter. Strephon is determined to marry Phyllis at once, particularly as many of the young Peers are already competing for her hand in marriage. Agreed upon their course the couple head off together as a march heralds the arrival of members of the House of Lords and the Lord Chancellor.

From the conversation of this gathering of Peers it soon becomes apparent that Strephon's fears are not unfounded. The Chancellor himself is in love with Phyllis and would award her to himself if the dictates of his position did not prevent it. Still, it is quite clear that he must decide upon a husband for Phyllis from among the ranks of expectant Peers. To this end the girl has been summoned to appear in person and as Phyllis arrives their intention is made clear to her. To their dismay Phyllis declines their offers and announces that her heart is given to another. Following an outburst of anger from the Chancellor, Strephon now steps forward. Strephon again appeals to the Chancellor for his blessing and once more his appeal is withheld.

Iolanthe proceeds to comfort her son and together they discuss the situation. Meanwhile, Lord Mountararat and Lord Tolloller are slowly leading Phyllis towards the couple whilst misrepresenting the scene to her. Phyllis sees only Strephon apparently affectionate with a beautiful young girl and accuses Strephon of being unfaithful unheeding to Strephon's subsequent pleas that the young girl is his mother. Phyllis, disbelieving, offers her heart to the two Lords to fight over.

In his anguish, Strephon makes appeal to the Fairy Queen and is quickly answered. The Queen immediately denounces the heartless treatement of the two lovers, rebuking the Chancellor and Peers and sets forth trying to remedy the situation. Her explanation is likewise greeted with disbelief and she reveals her identity announcing that Strephon will be entering Pariliament and with his fairy power, will wreak vengeance upon them.

ACT II

ALL attention is now concentrated upon Westminster. The moon touches Palace Yard with silver and serves to illuminate the sentry-box of Private Willis, of B Company, 1st Grenadier Guards, who is whiling away the hours of duty with a soliloquy upon M.P.'s and their ways.
The fairies appear and from them we learn that Strephon, as an M.P., is proving an unqualified success. With dictator-like drive he is passing through both Houses, Bills dealing with every sort of problem, usual and unusual, to the mighty consternation of Peers and Commons alike. Indeed the Peers, on their way from Westminster Hall, are loud in their condemnation of Strephon's tactics and the Lords Mountararat and Tolloller bewail the latest departure from tradition, in Strephon's Bill to throw the Peerage open to Competitive Examination.
In spite of themselves Celia and the others are much impressed by the dignified bearing of their Lordships and are not averse to a little coquetry, an attitude of mind which is sternly suppressed by their Queen, who arrives in time to warn her subjects of the penalty awaiting those who marry mortals. She advises them to subdue their weakness and by way of example, confesses that she herself has already felt the spell of Guardsman Willis, a spell to which she has no intention of succumbing.
As the Queen and her Fairies depart, Phyllis appears followed by her faithful swains Mountararat and Tolloller, who are greatly concerned as to which is to give way to the other. Neither, it appears, is prepared to make any great sacrifice. They have been friends since boyhood and after threshing the problem out, they come to the conclusion that the whole thing is hardly worth while. Having arrived at this conclusion, they depart together in one direction and Phyllis goes off alone in another, as the Lord Chancellor appears, in a very depressed state of mind.
It is evident that the Chancellor's love for Phyllis is bearing hardly upon him, as is also his official position in regard to the girl. So woebegone is he that Mountararat and Tolloller, who return to Palace Yard at this juncture, profess themselves as " distressed to see your Lordship in this condition." The two young Peers advise him that , if he makes formal application to himself " respectfully, and with a proper show of deference," all may yet be well. Encouraged by this friendly counsel the Chancellor recovers [his spirits and the trio go off together arm-in-arm as Strephon comes along in very low spirits.

The powers of a dictator have brought no joy to the young M.P. He calls aloud the name of his Phyllis, and as the girl herself appears at that moment, he is covered with confusion and hastily enquires which title she has decided to acquire. Phyllis, it seems, has not yet made up her mind, having no mother to advise her, whereupon Strephon seizes the opportunity to admit that he has one, and a fairy mother at that. Phyllis is not unnaturally taken aback at this surprising information ; but it is quickly evident that it will take more than a fairy mother to come between the pair, and once more they decide to get married at once.
As the loving couple rejoice in their reunion, Iolanthe appears to welcome her daughter-in-law. They beg her to plead for them with the Chancellor but Iolanthe, covered with confusion, at first refuses and is then obliged to confess that the Chancellor is her own husband and Strephon's father. She is reminding Strephon that she must not undeceive the Chancellor, who believes that she died childless, when that legal dignitary is seen returning. Phyllis and Strephon slip off together as Iolanthe hastily veils herself against the Chancellor's approach.
His Lordship is in an exceedingly cheerful frame of mind. He has at last succeeded in persuading himself to consent to his own wedding with his own ward, and when Iolanthe appeals to him for Strephon he gives her a hearing. Where Phyllis is concerned, however, he is adamant and announces that the girl is his promised bride. Desperate, Iolanthe casts prudence aside and reveals herself to him as the wife he had long thought dead.
Retribution comes swiftly. The Queen is at once on the scene to punish Iolanthe for her second fall from grace. The fairy law is clear ; " every fairy must die who marries a mortal." Again the fairies plead for her. " If Iolanthe must die " they say, " so must we all; for, as she has sinned, so have we." Their admiration for the Peers has been too much for them.
The Queen is in a quandary from which she is helped by the legal wit of the Chancellor, who suggests that the law be altered to read that " every fairy shall die who don't marry a mortal." As this places the Queen in a further difficulty she promptly proposes to Private Willis, who accepts her, whereupon he and the Peers are made fairies on the spot.

Roles

The Lord Chancellor (comic baritone)
Earl of Mountararat (baritone)
Earl Tolloller (tenor)
Private Willis, of the Grenadier Guards (bass)
Strephon, an Arcadian Shepherd (baritone)
Queen of the Fairies (contralto)
Iolanthe, a Fairy, Strephon's mother (mezzo-soprano)
Celia, a Fairy (soprano)
Leila, a Fairy (mezzo-soprano)
Fleta, a Fairy (speaking/chorus)
Phyllis, an Arcadian Shepherdess and Ward in Chancery (soprano)
Chorus of Dukes, Marquises, Earls, Viscounts, Barons and Fairies

MUSICAL NUMBERS

Overture

Act I

1. "Tripping hither, tripping thither" (Celia, Leila, and Chorus of Fairies)
2. "Iolanthe from thy dark exile" (Queen, Iolanthe, Celia, Leila, and Chorus of Fairies)
3. "Good-morrow, good mother" (Strephon and Chorus of Fairies)
4. "Fare thee well, attractive stranger" (Queen and Chorus of Fairies)
4a. "Good-morrow, good lover" (Phyllis and Strephon)
5. "None shall part us" (Phyllis and Strephon)
6. "Loudly let the trumpet bray" (Chorus of Peers)
7. "The law is the true embodiment" (Lord Chancellor and Chorus of Peers)
8. "My well-loved Lord" (Phyllis, Lord Tolloller, and Lord Mountararat)
9. "Nay, tempt me not" (Phyllis)
10. "Spurn not the nobly born" (Lord Tolloller and Chorus of Peers)
11. "My lords, it may not be" (Phyllis, Lord Tolloller, Lord Mountararat, Strephon, Lord Chancellor, and Chorus of Peers)
12. "When I went to the Bar" (Lord Chancellor)
13. "When darkly looms the day" (Phyllis, Iolanthe, Queen, Leila, Celia, Strephon, Lord Tolloller, Lord Mountararat, Lord Chancellor, and Chorus of Fairies and Peers)

Act II

14. "When all night long a chap remains" (Private Willis)
15. "Strephon's a member of Parliament" (Chorus of Fairies and Peers)
16. "When Britain really ruled the waves" (Lord Mountararat and Chorus)
17. "In vain to us you plead" (Leila and Celia with Chorus of Fairies, Lord Mountararat and Lord Tolloller with Chorus of Peers)
18. "Oh, foolish Fay " (Queen with Chorus of Fairies)
19. "Tho' p'r'aps I may incur thy blame" (Phyllis, Lord Mountararat, Lord Tolloller, and Private Willis)
20. "Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest" (Lord Chancellor)
21. "If you go in you're sure to win" (Lord Tolloller, Lord Mountararat, and Lord Chancellor)
22. "If we're weak enough to tarry" (Phyllis and Strephon)
23. "My lord, a suppliant at your feet" (Iolanthe)
24. "It may not be" (Lord Chancellor, Iolanthe, and Chorus of Fairies)
25. "Soon as we may, off and away" (Ensemble)









				Iolanthe IOLANTHE was first produced at the Savoy Theatre on November 25, 1882 and achieved a run of over thirteen months, a total of 398 performances. THE STORY ACT 1 The opening of Act 1 finds us on an Arcadian landscape peopled by fairy-folk. The 3 leading subjects of the Fairy Queen, Celia, Lelia and Fleta are lamenting the banishment of Iolanthe, the most merry of all the Queen's subjects. Unfortunately Iolanthe had married a mortal and had thus broken one the most strictest of fairy laws. For this the punishment was death. However in her clemency, the Queen had commuted the sentence to one of penal servitude for life. Even so, Iolanthe was forbidden to see her mortal husband and in her despair had taken up her abode at the bottom of a stream so as to be closer to her son of her marriage, Strephon. The fairies plead with the Queen that their sister be forgiven. Working on her feelings they successfully persuade her to relent and Iolanthe is called back to them and is welcomed with open arms. For the first time the Queen and her subjects learn of Strephon and it is not long before he arrives merrily on the scene, dancing and singing joyously. He greets his mother and informs her that he is to be married to Phyllis, a pretty young Ward of Chancery, that very day. His mother enquires anxiously as to whether he has received the permission of the Lord Chancellor. He replies wistfully that his application had been refused but nonetheless he intends to marry regardless. Strephon is presented to the Queen, her subjects and his mother's sisters. He complains to them of the disadvantages of being a fairy down to the waist. His legs however are mortal, a fact he has been careful not to disclose to his beloved Phyllis. The Queen suggests that with his fairy brain he would do well in Parliament and promises to use her powerful aid on his behalf. As the fairies depart, Phyllis comes to meet Strephon and they proceed to discuss the matter. Strephon is determined to marry Phyllis at once, particularly as many of the young Peers are already competing for her hand in marriage. Agreed upon their course the couple head off together as a march heralds the arrival of members of the House of Lords and the Lord Chancellor. From the conversation of this gathering of Peers it soon becomes apparent that Strephon's fears are not unfounded. The Chancellor himself is in love with Phyllis and would award her to himself if the dictates of his position did not prevent it. Still, it is quite clear that he must decide upon a husband for Phyllis from among the ranks of expectant Peers. To this end the girl has been summoned to appear in person and as Phyllis arrives their intention is made clear to her. To their dismay Phyllis declines their offers and announces that her heart is given to another. Following an outburst of anger from the Chancellor, Strephon now steps forward. Strephon again appeals to the Chancellor for his blessing and once more his appeal is withheld. Iolanthe proceeds to comfort her son and together they discuss the situation. Meanwhile, Lord Mountararat and Lord Tolloller are slowly leading Phyllis towards the couple whilst misrepresenting the scene to her. Phyllis sees only Strephon apparently affectionate with a beautiful young girl and accuses Strephon of being unfaithful unheeding to Strephon's subsequent pleas that the young girl is his mother. Phyllis, disbelieving, offers her heart to the two Lords to fight over. In his anguish, Strephon makes appeal to the Fairy Queen and is quickly answered. The Queen immediately denounces the heartless treatement of the two lovers, rebuking the Chancellor and Peers and sets forth trying to remedy the situation. Her explanation is likewise greeted with disbelief and she reveals her identity announcing that Strephon will be entering Pariliament and with his fairy power, will wreak vengeance upon them. ACT II ALL attention is now concentrated upon Westminster. The moon touches Palace Yard with silver and serves to illuminate the sentry-box of Private Willis, of B Company, 1st Grenadier Guards, who is whiling away the hours of duty with a soliloquy upon M.P.'s and their ways. The fairies appear and from them we learn that Strephon, as an M.P., is proving an unqualified success. With dictator-like drive he is passing through both Houses, Bills dealing with every sort of problem, usual and unusual, to the mighty consternation of Peers and Commons alike. Indeed the Peers, on their way from Westminster Hall, are loud in their condemnation of Strephon's tactics and the Lords Mountararat and Tolloller bewail the latest departure from tradition, in Strephon's Bill to throw the Peerage open to Competitive Examination. In spite of themselves Celia and the others are much impressed by the dignified bearing of their Lordships and are not averse to a little coquetry, an attitude of mind which is sternly suppressed by their Queen, who arrives in time to warn her subjects of the penalty awaiting those who marry mortals. She advises them to subdue their weakness and by way of example, confesses that she herself has already felt the spell of Guardsman Willis, a spell to which she has no intention of succumbing. As the Queen and her Fairies depart, Phyllis appears followed by her faithful swains Mountararat and Tolloller, who are greatly concerned as to which is to give way to the other. Neither, it appears, is prepared to make any great sacrifice. They have been friends since boyhood and after threshing the problem out, they come to the conclusion that the whole thing is hardly worth while. Having arrived at this conclusion, they depart together in one direction and Phyllis goes off alone in another, as the Lord Chancellor appears, in a very depressed state of mind. It is evident that the Chancellor's love for Phyllis is bearing hardly upon him, as is also his official position in regard to the girl. So woebegone is he that Mountararat and Tolloller, who return to Palace Yard at this juncture, profess themselves as " distressed to see your Lordship in this condition." The two young Peers advise him that , if he makes formal application to himself " respectfully, and with a proper show of deference," all may yet be well. Encouraged by this friendly counsel the Chancellor recovers [his spirits and the trio go off together arm-in-arm as Strephon comes along in very low spirits. The powers of a dictator have brought no joy to the young M.P. He calls aloud the name of his Phyllis, and as the girl herself appears at that moment, he is covered with confusion and hastily enquires which title she has decided to acquire. Phyllis, it seems, has not yet made up her mind, having no mother to advise her, whereupon Strephon seizes the opportunity to admit that he has one, and a fairy mother at that. Phyllis is not unnaturally taken aback at this surprising information ; but it is quickly evident that it will take more than a fairy mother to come between the pair, and once more they decide to get married at once. As the loving couple rejoice in their reunion, Iolanthe appears to welcome her daughter-in-law. They beg her to plead for them with the Chancellor but Iolanthe, covered with confusion, at first refuses and is then obliged to confess that the Chancellor is her own husband and Strephon's father. She is reminding Strephon that she must not undeceive the Chancellor, who believes that she died childless, when that legal dignitary is seen returning. Phyllis and Strephon slip off together as Iolanthe hastily veils herself against the Chancellor's approach. His Lordship is in an exceedingly cheerful frame of mind. He has at last succeeded in persuading himself to consent to his own wedding with his own ward, and when Iolanthe appeals to him for Strephon he gives her a hearing. Where Phyllis is concerned, however, he is adamant and announces that the girl is his promised bride. Desperate, Iolanthe casts prudence aside and reveals herself to him as the wife he had long thought dead. Retribution comes swiftly. The Queen is at once on the scene to punish Iolanthe for her second fall from grace. The fairy law is clear ; " every fairy must die who marries a mortal." Again the fairies plead for her. " If Iolanthe must die " they say, " so must we all; for, as she has sinned, so have we." Their admiration for the Peers has been too much for them. The Queen is in a quandary from which she is helped by the legal wit of the Chancellor, who suggests that the law be altered to read that " every fairy shall die who don't marry a mortal." As this places the Queen in a further difficulty she promptly proposes to Private Willis, who accepts her, whereupon he and the Peers are made fairies on the spot. Roles The Lord Chancellor (comic baritone) Earl of Mountararat (baritone) Earl Tolloller (tenor) Private Willis, of the Grenadier Guards (bass) Strephon, an Arcadian Shepherd (baritone) Queen of the Fairies (contralto) Iolanthe, a Fairy, Strephon's mother (mezzo-soprano) Celia, a Fairy (soprano) Leila, a Fairy (mezzo-soprano) Fleta, a Fairy (speaking/chorus) Phyllis, an Arcadian Shepherdess and Ward in Chancery (soprano) Chorus of Dukes, Marquises, Earls, Viscounts, Barons and Fairies MUSICAL NUMBERS Overture Act I 1. "Tripping hither, tripping thither" (Celia, Leila, and Chorus of Fairies) 2. "Iolanthe from thy dark exile" (Queen, Iolanthe, Celia, Leila, and Chorus of Fairies) 3. "Good-morrow, good mother" (Strephon and Chorus of Fairies) 4. "Fare thee well, attractive stranger" (Queen and Chorus of Fairies) 4a. "Good-morrow, good lover" (Phyllis and Strephon) 5. "None shall part us" (Phyllis and Strephon) 6. "Loudly let the trumpet bray" (Chorus of Peers) 7. "The law is the true embodiment" (Lord Chancellor and Chorus of Peers) 8. "My well-loved Lord" (Phyllis, Lord Tolloller, and Lord Mountararat) 9. "Nay, tempt me not" (Phyllis) 10. "Spurn not the nobly born" (Lord Tolloller and Chorus of Peers) 11. "My lords, it may not be" (Phyllis, Lord Tolloller, Lord Mountararat, Strephon, Lord Chancellor, and Chorus of Peers) 12. "When I went to the Bar" (Lord Chancellor) 13. "When darkly looms the day" (Phyllis, Iolanthe, Queen, Leila, Celia, Strephon, Lord Tolloller, Lord Mountararat, Lord Chancellor, and Chorus of Fairies and Peers) Act II 14. "When all night long a chap remains" (Private Willis) 15. "Strephon's a member of Parliament" (Chorus of Fairies and Peers) 16. "When Britain really ruled the waves" (Lord Mountararat and Chorus) 17. "In vain to us you plead" (Leila and Celia with Chorus of Fairies, Lord Mountararat and Lord Tolloller with Chorus of Peers) 18. "Oh, foolish Fay " (Queen with Chorus of Fairies) 19. "Tho' p'r'aps I may incur thy blame" (Phyllis, Lord Mountararat, Lord Tolloller, and Private Willis) 20. "Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest" (Lord Chancellor) 21. "If you go in you're sure to win" (Lord Tolloller, Lord Mountararat, and Lord Chancellor) 22. "If we're weak enough to tarry" (Phyllis and Strephon) 23. "My lord, a suppliant at your feet" (Iolanthe) 24. "It may not be" (Lord Chancellor, Iolanthe, and Chorus of Fairies) 25. "Soon as we may, off and away" (Ensemble)





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